David Cameron has revealed his priority for 2014 - to keep his bald spot hidden.

He was speaking at the first Westminster Correspondents dinner for 40 years, in front of an audience of political journalists.

In a tongue-in-cheek quip, he said his priority for the year ahead was "keeping the bald spot under control".

He then insisted he had not known in advance that his hairdresser was getting an MBE in the New Year's Honours but he added: "If you can make cuts and stop recession at the same time, you deserve an honour."

The event - similar to the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in the US - was revived for the first time since 1974.

David Cameron's hairline in 2006 (L) and today

And, like the US version, it gave the PM the chance for a gentle ribbing of his political rivals.

Looking out at the crowd of reporters in the grand surroundings of the House of Commons Members' dining room, the PM said: "The last time I was at a dinner this posh, Boris (Johnson) spent the rest of the night in prison."

He then recounted a day spent canvassing with the London mayor, when a woman answered their knock on the door with the words: "Boris, you're the father of one of my children."

After some flustering by Mr Johnson she added: "It's your daughter, I'm her maths teacher."

He said one of his other priorities was keeping the coalition on the road while Nick Clegg "the product of the mean streets of Westminster and Cambridge", tried to differentiate himself from the public-school Tories.

He also praised backbencher Penny Mordaunt for her decision to appear on ITV's Splash to raise money for charity, adding: "If every Tory MP who's taken their clothes off in recent years had had such noble intentions, we would be in a much better position."

He also said he had a lot in common with his Commons adversary, shadow chancellor Ed Balls.

"We both love The Sound of Music, we both love Delia Smith - for different reasons - and we both like the Antiques Roadshow," he said. "I like it for the heartwarming stories, Ed likes it when they sell the family silver."

Mr Cameron ended with praise for Britain's free press, paying tribute to The Guardian's parliamentary sketchwriter Simon Hoggart, who died earlier this month.